The Queen of Hell
by PandaAtTheDisco
Summary: The Queen of hell uncovers the secret of her past


Slumped against a pillar in the old stone warehouse, the Queen of Hell listened. She listened for the rumble of an engine and the squeak of tires on wet pavement. The Winchesters should arrive any minute. In the days previous the two brothers had managed to capture and kill many demons. None of which lived to tell why they had done so, or what they wanted from them. To deal with the problem she had sent a rumor that something big was going to happen here. At this hour of night. Her plans were simple. The Winchesters will show up expecting something big happening here, but when they show, they will find nothing, and be unprepared for her power.

Of course this time she was acting alone. For reasons unknown to her Crowley had forbidden this trip. He claimed it was for her own safety, that she had been out of the field for too long, but she saw something in his eyes that said that there was more. When she confronted him about this he calmly replied that he would handle it as soon as he was done with business. She then closed her eyes and felt him kiss her cheek, but when she opened them again he was gone.

Crowley had taken her out of the field when they had gotten together four years ago. Since then he has handled everything for her. She never even lifted a finger. She never needed too. She had almost forgotten what it feels like out in the real world. Out of hell and onto the hard Earth. She thought for a moment. She had truly forgotten what it was like to feel the Earth beneath her. A silent bell dinged in the corner of her mind but when she looked toward it she ran into a wall. A wall in her own mind.

The sound of a car pulling up shook her from her thoughts , she straightened up and gazed to the front door of the warehouse. She saw no movement. They will likely be coming around the back to see if it was cleared. She ran to the far wall of the building and slipped through a door leading to what used to be a managers office, where she slunk to the ground and watched through a hole in the drywall to where the entrance of the massive building lay.

Outside, Dean pulled open the trunk of the impala and and clambered around for a bit. Not knowing what hellish creatures lay inside he stuck all sorts of knives and daggers into any place he could cram then. He also tucked his gun by his hip, but he knew he would rarely need it. When his jacket, belt, and shoes were all stuffed with pointed things he turned back towards the building. Sam was just coming out from one its sides, after getting a good look around the place.

"See anything?" Dean asked.

"Besides a lot of rats? Not really no. Are you sure this is the place? I mean it looks pretty average to me."

"Well this is the only bat infested hell hole around here so let's hope so." He turned toward the building when Sam stuck out his hand.

"Give it"

With an exaggerated sigh Dean reached behind him and pulled the demon blade from his belt. Carefully setting it down into his brothers hand Dean said,

"Try not to lose it."

Sam laughed.

"I couldn't possibly lose it more than you do"

With a glare Dean started toward the front door with his little brother at his heels.

As they made their way to the front door they glanced from window to window. The beams from their flashlights bounced and bounced toward the building as if to ward off any evil from entering its path. When the brothers reached the door Dean silently grasped the handle. Unlocked. He gave Sam a signal and with a massive force pulled the door wide open. Sam immediately dashed through the door with the blade in hand. He turned wildly looking in every possible direction before relaxing and turning back to Dean. The warehouse was dark in the corners but for the most part the entire empty building was illuminated by the moon shining through the glass panels in the ceiling.

Back in the small room, the queen watched as the two Winchesters entered through the large door. Crowley had said lots of things about them. Mostly horrible things about how they were putrid buckets of slime and that he wishes he could crumple them into a ball and use them to play fetch with his hounds. She could see it. They were large, and she could see by the way they carried themselves that they were clever too. Easy to understand how they could overpower a couple of smaller demons. But she is the queen. She could of taken on twenty hunters back when she was an agent. But her power is even greater now.

"God this place is dusty," Dean coughed. Sam turned to look at him before sweeping through the dark corners with his flashlight. They walked toward the center of the room. Their eyes pealed for any movement. When they reached the center they stopped and scanned the building one last time.

"Well," Sam sighed,"this was pointless." He brought his flashlight away from the windows a sheathed his blade behind him.

"Ya. How about we head back to the motel and see if we missed another dark and hellish warehouse in between here and there."Dean suggested

"You think we're in the wrong place?" Sam asked.

The Queen of Hell silently slid out from her hiding place and into the light of the moon.

"Oh you're in the right place boys" she said with a smirk. Sam and Dean whipped around getting out their knives in the process.

"Who are you." Sam demanded. She laughed.

"As if you deserve to speak my name." Sam and dean were slowly splitting apart, and were working their way around her in opposing directions. "I am the queen of hell." She said and the two boys silently looked at one another but kept maneuvering around her.

"No offense your majesty," Dean said with a sarcastic tone, "But your a royal pain in my ass"

She laughed again.

"I hardly think..." A force knocked her from behind and grabbed her by her neck. Sam. His headlock was tight around her as she used her hand to grasp his arm. She pulled on him with her mind as she did with countless others before him, but this time, it did nothing. Confused, she tried again to pry his arm from her neck. Nothing. What is happening? Why weren't her powers working? Panic washed over her and she clawed desperately at his arm, kicking in an angry rage. Sam, twice as big, and twice as strong, had no trouble keeping her in one place.

"Not so talkative now, are you?" Sam laughed. Dean was in front of her too now. unscrewing the top of a flask with a smile on his face. Holy water. She let out a small whimper into the hand across her mouth and thrashed wildly in Sam's grasp.

Dean flicked the canister toward her and the stream of clear liquid came flying in her direction. She let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut tight. Then, her face was covered in the water. While she was panicking in his arms it took her a second to realize that she was not burning. The boys must have noticed too because in a heartbeat she fell to the floor breathing heavily and shaking from the shock. They looked just as shocked as she was.

"Your human?" Sam asked in surprise. "Why were you pretending to be demon?" She had no answer. She was a demon, wasn't she? She was bent over the floor her mind racing. What is happening to her? What is going on? Her head ached and she felt dizzy. The last time she had used her power was four years ago. At a gas station in Philadelphia. Or was it a movie theater? Her mind collapsed and all of her memories blurred together. She tried so hard to remember, but the closer she got, the more blurred it became. Then there was the wall. The wall in her mind that was blocking something. What was it? The anger inside her built up and the wall was crumbling down. The pain she felt was unbearable. Both of her hands were clutching the sides of her head as she wailed in pain. "Who am I?" She thought, "Who AM I?"

She heard a bade being unsheathed behind her and she strained herself to look. The Winchesters had backed up, away from her to give her room on the floor but now they were not looking at her. They looked past her to the far end of the building. She could hear the blood pumping in her ears as the wall was crumbling in her mind. Pain shot through her as she turned again to see what it was. It was a figure. A short dark figure. Crowley. He was looking at her. Only her. His face was lit with the deepest concern and his big eyes were trying comprehend what was going on. But he already knew. Sadness washed over him and he just looked. Watched. As much as his heart longed to help her he knew that there was nothing he could do. His eyes were fixed on her for he knew this day would come. But he had hoped it would be different.

Then the wall came down and when she looked deep into his eyes she saw something that terrified her. A memory that stuck through the rest. Full of terror and Sadness. And while their eyes connected, she remembered.

-Four Years Ago-

The woman was alone in her house. Lost in her comfy leather sofa, she gracefully turned the pages of a hard bound book, occasionally reaching down to stroke the head of the large golden retriever in her lap. Lost among the story she barely even noticed the familiar car pull into the driveway, and it wasn't until she heard the key twisting in the lock of the front door did she emerge from her story. The door opened and a man stepped in. A tall man with scruffy brown hair and a narrow jaw line.

"Careen?I'm home!" He set down his briefcase next to the door as he closed it, and she rushed to greet him.

"Derek don't leave your suitcase in the middle of the hallway, you'll trip over it." He smiled at her comment and leaned in and kissed her hello. In seeing his masters return the dog excitedly bounced by his feet begging for attention. Derek bent down to say hello and the dog excitedly rolled onto her back and stuck her legs in the air. He laughed.

"How was work babe?" Careen asked. He put his arm around her in a loving embrace.

"Better now that I'm home" Derek sighed.

She laughed. "It's good to see you too." He hung his jacket on the stand next to the door and started up the stairs.

"I'll be upstairs whenever you can pry yourselves from that book" he said. And he smiled at her and headed up the stairs to where their bedroom lay. She watched him go.

Twirling the engagement ring on her finger, she went deep into thought. The wedding was next month. Although she loved him more than words she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed by it all. There was so much to do. To plan. And the butterflies have been chewing at her stomach since the night he proposed. She leaned against the wall. Sometimes she felt it would be easier to just run from it all. To escape. But she couldn't do that. Not ever.

She walked toward the window and peered past the white lace curtains. Dogs were barking in the quiet neighborhood, and she was happy. She moved back to the couch and started again to read her story. Although this time it was more difficult. She tried to engage herself in the story but she couldn't. Something was bothering her. An itch on on the back of her neck. She closed her story and instead took to staring out the front window. The dogs had gotten louder. She didn't think the neighbors had dogs. Perhaps they had adopted some recently. The flickering street light shown down onto the road, making a little circle of yellow light appear the darkness in front of their house. Like a set for a movie.

And then a figure stepped into it. A short stout figure. Careen stood up and walked toward the window. As she pulled back the lace curtain she strained to see the man's face. It was him. She pulled away from the window. John. He was waiting for her to come out. It had been at least a month since she had last seen him. They used to grab coffee together every day before work. But the last time she had seen him had not been pleasant.

They were grabbing their daily coffee together, walking, talking, laughing. She had enjoyed his company. That morning, was the morning after she had gotten engaged. With a great excitement she told him, thinking that he would be happy for her. He just stared at her, in shock, as if she had pulled a gun on him. He looked at her with sad eyes and all she could do was stare back, confused. He then proceeded to announce his love for her. Claiming that Derek would never love her the way he did. And then he asked her to be with him, to run away together. It was too much to bear for her. She ran. She ran until she had gotten as far as her legs could carry her. Then she collapsed. She never told anyone else what had happened.

And now he was standing before her. Waiting. He was wearing the same dark suit that he always did and had kept his beard trimmed nicely. He always looked like he had walked out of a fairy tale. Like it was hard to imagine he was here. With a sigh she made her way to the door. Knowing him he would likely stand there all night if he had to, might as well talk now.

She opened the door and stepped outside. When he saw her, he straightened up and walked over to the door.

"Careen." He said, his British accent clinging to her eardrums.

"John" She replied dull-ly.

"It's good to see you again. You look good." He smiled as he said it, making Careen feel weak inside.

"Look John," she explained. "I'm so sorry about what happened last time, I mean, I just panicked..."

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing Careen" he took a step closer to her."I was way out of line. And the way I expressed my feelings..." He sighed "I'm surprised you're even talking to me."

"Thank you. It means a lot that you came to apologize." He looked down at his feet.

"Of course. I couldn't bare the thought of you being afraid of me." The comment made her stomach churn. "Oh no" she thought. "No, no, no." She would not fall in love with him. Not here, and especially not now. She was engaged. For gods sake she would be married in a month.

"Alright well I guess I should go its getting late." She tried to excuse herself for she feared what should happen if she stayed.

"Well alright I guess." He shifted around his feet still staring nervously at the ground.

"See you around?" She asked.

"Of course." He said. She turned and opened the door. "The offer still stands though." She froze, and then turned to look at him. For moment, their eyes locked. "You can still come with me. If you want. we could be happy." he took a step toward her. She could feel him now. They were almost touching, eyes still locked. "Together." He breathed as he leaned in. Her heart was pounding as their noses touched.

"No." She breathed, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. "No. I can't."

"Why not? He asked.

"I have Derek. I have responsibilities. I have..." she backed up through the doorway her heart pounding and her mixed emotions running like a faucet with no switches. She backed up until she was in her own house and away from him. "This is not a fairytale. This is real life, were adults, and I can't just pack up everything thing and leave." She looked down at him, Into his sad features. She had stabbed him again. "I'm sorry" she exclaimed and shut the door. Leaving the wounded man alone in the dark.

Careen awoke to the sound of dogs. Again. She had never heard so many rowdy dogs in the neighborhood before. Perhaps one had gotten loose. She sat up in her bed groggily. It was still night. She glanced over her shoulder to the digital clock by her bed. 2:34 in the morning. Maybe she should complain? Pushing the fallen hair from her face she thought she saw something in the corner of her eye. But when she looked again there was nothing. Careen shivered. Something was wrong in the neighborhood. The sound of barking grew closer. She glanced toward the window. It sounded as if the dog was right beneath it. She slid out of bed and walked towards it. The window slid open and she look out. Nothing. Yet the barking still sounded as if it were coming from the ground.

Then, She heard a terrible crash from downstairs followed by the breaking of glass and wood and all sorts of noises. And barking, lots of barking. Careen ran to the bed.

"Derek! Derek wake up!" She grabbed at the sheets but thats all that were there. Empty sheets. She panicked

"Derek?!" She called out. "Where are you?!" The crashing stopped, as if it heard her, and the barking became growling.

Terrified and alone, she reached below the bed and pulled out a large black case.

Her father's rifle. She took it out and loaded it like he had shown her many times. Feeling safer she crawled out of bed and through the bedroom door. The hallway was dark. She tried the lights but they seemed to be broken.

"Derek!" She whispered into the dark. No reply. She made her way to the top of the stairs. At the bottom she could see part of the entryway table and broken glass shattered on the floor. She crept carefully down the stairs. When she reached the last step she saw that the room was trashed. Everything was torn, broken, or mangled somehow. The windows were shattered and the front door was lying in the far corner of the room. She carefully stepped down. Terrified and shaking she didn't want anything more than to get out of there.

Then, through the wreckage of her house she saw someone standing in the middle of the room. A man in a black suit. She raise her rifle and the man turned to face her. She gasped, and almost dropped the gun.

"John?" She whispered. Did he do this to her? She looked down to his feet, where she saw the corpse of a man with scruffy brown hair and a narrow jaw line.

"DEREK!" she screamed as she fell to ground in tumble of loud sobs, dropping the rifle.

"No, no, no, Derek..." She cried out. Tears ran from her eyes as she shook in fear and sadness.

The man walked toward Careen and bent over beside her but she knocked him back with an incredible force, flailing her arms wildly screaming, yelling and sobbing. He grabbed her and held her in one place.

"Careen!" He shook her to calm her down a bit, Turning sobs into tears and shouting into whimpering, he explained. "Careen its ok! You're alright!" He looked at her with joy. But she stared back with a look of horror.

"You." She breathed, "You did this." She was angry and scared. She pulled her arms free then backed up until she felt the wall behind her and then she sank to the floor, still sobbing. She felt a pain in her left hand. Looking down she saw she had a shard of glass buried in her skin. Then, out of nowhere, John was beside her. She flinched back to get away from him but he immediately grabbed her arm, and very delicately examined her hand. She squirmed and tried to pull herself away from him, still breathing heavily in panic. He looked back into her eyes.

"Shhh, its alright my love." He breathed , "You're going to be fine," he gently cupped her hurt hand with his and she started to feel a slight tingle. After a moment, he released her hand. Pulling it away from him, she looked down to find her hand healed. The cut was gone. Panicking again she pulled away from him and stared at the hand. Clean. Not even a scar. She looked back to where he was kneeling. Terrified she asked in a shaking voice.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Crowley" he said calmly. "I'm the king of hell."

"Your crazy" Careen said. But she looked down at her hand. She didn't know anymore. He moved closer to her.

"I came back," He started "to tell you that you were wrong." She looked up at him. "We can have our fairy tale. We can still be together." He took her hand again. "We can still be happy. She shook with fear.

"No" she said, "I won't go with you" Crowley looked to the floor."You can kill me if you want, but I won't move. And I don't know if I love you or not but personally, I couldn't care less." She added, "but I will NEVER go with you. So go ahead, kill me. It won't change my answer."

Crowley sighed.

"It's a shame really. I didn't want it to come to this." He raised his hand to her head. "It's all right love, I promise this won't hurt if you relax" His hand touched her head, and her mind went to black.

-Present-

The woman shook violently as memory after memory retuned to her. Pain shot through her like angry spikes and she was tossed around on the cold floor of the building. She was human. And she had a name. Careen. Her blood was boiling in her brain as her whole life returned to her. Crowley. He had whipped her memory. Making her think she was a demon for the last four years. He had made her believe she had killed people. Innocent people. Her head was pounding.

Derek. She remembered the man she was going to marry twisted on the floor of their broken home. Careen's eyes filled with tears as she twisted around again. The pain was still washing through her, head to toe, cleaning out the taint of the wall. Her vision was blurred but she could still make out the outline of the two Winchesters. She sobbed into the hard ground. The pain was easing and she looked up to the brothers and stuck her hand out.

"Please." She begged with her tears running down her damp cheeks. "Help me." Dean moved toward her and put his arm around her. She grabbed onto him and he helped pull her to a sitting position. She tucked her arms around him and sobbed deeply into his chest. As she squeezed him she felt his gun at his side, tucked into his belt. The pain was little now. But the memory's she felt inside her were worse. She glanced to the other side of the room. Yes, he was still there.

Crowley stood not fifteen feet away but she already felt too close. The king's face was dark with deep concern. His huge eyes looked at her the same they always had. He had wiped her memory so that she wouldn't remember turning him away. So that he would have another chance. He loved her. Her heart pounded. After everything that happened, after the death and the demons and him abducting her, she still felt the same. She still loved him. And that's what frightened her the most.

"Careen..." He started as he took a step forward.

"No!" She screamed and she flung herself backward and stumbled to her feet. "No! I don't care anymore, after everything that you've done to me, I don't care what you have to say!"She yelled. Suddenly it was not only Crowley that was looking at her. She looked down. Dean's gun was gripped tight in her hands. She was crying again. "Why don't you tell them? Why don't you tell them how you kidnaped me from my home, killed my fiancé, and robbed me of my memory all in one night!?" She yelled at him. His face was pure sadness.

"I wanted you too be happy." He said gently "I wanted to give you your fairytale. Our fairytale."

She raised the gun at him.

"You know" she said sputtering from the tears, "That isn't even the worst part of it all. The worst part is that after everything you lied to about, everything you took from me, I still love you." She sobbed, then turned the gun toward herself, and pulled the trigger.

"NO!" Crowley shouted as she fell to the ground. In a heartbeat he rushed to her side and held her up in his arms. "No, no, no, no, no..." He repeated to himself as his only love grew limp in his arms. " My love..." He stroked her hair from her face. "No don't go..." Her body fell silent. And he sat there, holding her. His eyes into hers. But she wasn't there anymore. She was gone. His heart shattered and he felt sick. He closed his eyes, and slowly bent down to kiss her forehead. "Goodbye my love" he said, his voice cracking. When he lifted his head up he felt something sharp push up against his neck. Sam.

"Do it." He said. Shutting his eyes tight, the King of Hell hung his head down low, and a single tear fell. A single tear, for his lost Queen.


End file.
